Apparel belt



Feb'. s; 1944.

Patented Feb. 8, 1944 APPAREL BELT Haskel S. Frank, Chicago, Ill.,assigner to A. Stein & Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of IllinoisApplication June 6, 1940, Serial No. 339,068

13 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in belts and more particularlyto apparel belts, especially designed for mens wear although notnecessarily restricted thereto. The main objects of the invention are toprovide a belt of improved trousers supporting characteristics; toprovide a belt of novel and attractive appearance; to provide a belthaving the improved features referred to but which may be madeeconomically and'at low cost, and in general, it is the object of theinvention to provide an improved belt of the type referred to.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be understood byreference to the following specification and accompanying drawingwherein there is disclosed an apparel belt embodying a selected form ofthe invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective illustrating the improved belt in its entirety;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2--2 of Fig. l;

Figs. 3 and 4 are sections corresponding to Fig. 2 but showing the beltin successive stages of manufacture; and

Fig. 5 is a section corresponding to Fig. 2 but showing a modifiedconstruction.

The belt shown in the drawing is formed from a pair of strips or strapsof suitable leather or other material, an inner strap being designated 5and an outer strap I5.. As best shown in Figure 3, the inner strap isslightly narrower than the outer strap and it has one side skived so asto taper to substantially feather edges from a, predetermined thicknessintermediate its edges as indicated at l. uniform thickness throughoutits width and it has said inner strap 5 adhesively secured thereto bysuitable flexible cement or vin any other suitable manner. The compositestrip embodying the construction illustrated in Figure 3 is folded uponitself as indicated more or less diagrammatically in Figure 4 and thefolding is completed to cause the inner skived marginal portions 8. 8 ofthe inner strap to come into face to face engagement as shown in Figure2, The inside surface of the strip 5 is prelminarily coated withsuitable adhesive, so that when the composite strips are folded to thelcondition illustrated in Figure 2, the respective folds will adhere toeach other so as to maintain the straps in the folded conditionillustrated.

As shown, narrow marginal portions 9, 9 of the outer strap extend beyondthe side edges of the inner strap and said narrow marginal portions aresuitably pressed into face to face engagement as clearly shown in Figure2, so that the outer strap 6 completely encloses and surrounds the widthof the inner strap 5. Such marginal treatment serves to produce a moreor less rounded The outer strip 6 is preferably of lower edge whichapproximately corresponds with the rounded upper edge of the foldedstrap.

As an alternative to the above described construction, the belt may bemade as illustrated in Figure 5 wherein there is an inner strap II! ofpredetermined narrow width but so skived as to produce a cross-sectionalwedge shape as illustrated and an outer strap I I which is folded aroundthe wedge-shaped inner strap Il) so as to produce, in effect, thewedge-shaped belt form illustrated in Figure 2.

In the construction shown in Figure 5, a slight space may be provided asindicated at I2 above the wide upper edge of the inner strap IU so as toprovide an upper edge softness which may be considered desirable -forsome purposes. The inner strap I0 may, of course, be made of one flatstrap or of several plies. The inner strap I0 may be preliminarilyattached to one side portion of the outer strap I0, after which theother side portion of the outer strap may be folded around the thickedge of the inner strip and secured to the opposite side thereof.Similarly, if the inner strap I0 is to be formed of two plies ofmaterial. one ply may be attached to each side portion of the outerstrap I I in such spaced relation that when the composite strap isfolded upon itself, the plies of the inner strap will come into face toface contact to form in effect a solid wedgeshaped inner. strap such asillustrated in Figure 5. The wedge-shaped cross-section of the beltstrap is advantageous not only because of its attractive appearance butalso because it has a tendency to conform to body lines more effectivelythan does a conventional uniformly thick belt strap. It will be seenthat the upwardly increased thickness of the strap adapts the inner facethereof to more closely follow the inward and upward recession of thehip bones with less distortion to the strap itself than occurs with aflat belt strap. Hence, there is less functional cause for curling ofthe improved belt strap while the increased' thickness of the upper`portion thereof adds measurably to the resistance of the strap tocurling or buckling. Hence, the improved belt strap is capable ofmaintaining a neat and attractive appearance fora much longer peri od oftime than a comparable conventional flat strap.

The belt may be completed in any suitable manner as by having a buckleI3 attached to one end of the strap and a loop I4 provided for receivingthe opposite end to hold it in close, overlapping relation when the beltis worn. The buckle may be of any suitable type, either a selflocking orof the tongue type, in which case one end of the strap will be providedwith the required holes for engagement with the tongue. 'Ihe buckle maybe attached in any conventional manner and the loop I4 may be secured inplace or permitted to move freely to any desired position as may bestsuit the convenience of the manufacturer or user of the belt.

Various changes in the described construction may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which should bedetermined by reference to the following claims, the same beingconstrued as broadly as possible, consistent with the state of the art.

I claim:

l. An apparel belt comprising inner and outer strap elements, the innerelement having its thickness gradually reduced transversely from itscenter toward its opposite side edges, an outer element secured to saidinner element, said inner and outer elements being folded longitudinallyintermediate the width thereof and the folds being united to each other,thereby producing a strap of wedge-shaped cross section.

2. An apparel belt comprising inner and outer strap elements, the innerelement having its thickness gradually reduced transversely from itscenter toward its opposite side edges, an: outer element secured to saidinner element, said inner and outer elements being folded longitudinallyintermediate the width thereof and the folds being united to each other,thereby producing a strap of wedge-shaped cross section, the outermember being of such width that when folded, marginal edge portionsthereof extend beyond the adjacent edge of said inner member, saidmarginal portions being united to each other to provide full coverage ofthe adjacent edge portion of said inner member.

3. An apparel belt comprising inner and outer strap elements, the innerelement having its thickness gradually reduced transversely'from itscenter towardiits opposite side edges, an outer element of substantiallyuniform thickness secured to said inner element, said inner and outerelements being folded longitudinally intermediate the width thereof andthe folds being united to each other, thereby producing a strap ofwedgeshaped cross section.

4. An apparel belt comprising inner and outer strap elements, the innerelement, having its thickness gradually reduced transversely from itscenter toward its opposite side edges, an outer element of substantiallyuniform thickness secured to said inner element, said inner and outer'elements being folded longitudinally intermediate the width thereof andthe folds being united to each other, thereby producing a strap ofwedge-shaped cross section, the outer member being of such width thatwhen folded, marginal edge portions thereof extend beyond the adjacentedge of said inner member, said marginal portions being united to eachother to provide full coverage of the adjacent edge portion of vsaidinner member.

5. An apparel belt of wedge-shaped transverse cross section having innerand outer` strap elements, the inner element being of wedgeshapedtransverse cross section and the outer member being of substantiallyuniform thickness throughout its width and being folded around saidinner member so as to enclose the same, said outer strap being foldedaround the thickest edge of said inner strap and in spaced relationthereto, so as to provide a cushion edge on the belt.

6. An apparel belt comprising an elongated strap folded longitudinallyupon itself and having its respective folds tapered in thickness fromadjacent the line of folding to the edges of the strap, whereby the beltis wedge-shaped in transverse cross section.

7. An apparel belt comprising an elongated strap folded longitudinallyupon itself and having at least one of its folds tapered in thicknessfrom adjacent the line of folding to the edge of such fold, whereby thebelt is wedge-shaped in transverse cross section.

8. An apparel belt comprising an elongated strap folded longitudinallyupon itself and having its respective folds skived so as to be taperedin thickness from adjacent the line of folding to the edges of thestrap, the folds being skived on the same side of the strap and theskived faces being brought into face to face relation, whereby the beltis wedge-shaped in transverse cross-section.

9. A trousers supporting belt adapted to fit through the belt loops onthe outside of apair of trousers and of suflcient length to encircle apersons body, the belt comprising inner and outer strap elements, theinner element being of wedge-shaped transverse cross-section and theouter element being of substantially uniform thicknss throughout itswidth, said outer member extending across the thick edge of thewedgeshaped inner member, and across both faces and beyond the thin edgeof said inner member, the portions of said outer member which extendbeyond said thin edge being united to each other outwardly of said innermember.

l0. A trousers supporting belt adapted to fit through the belt loops onvthe outside of a pair of trousers and of sufcient lengthv to extendaround a persons body, the belt being of' uniform wedge-shapedtransverse cross section' substantially throughout its length andhavingI its upper edge portion of greater thickness than its lower edgeportion.

11. An apparel belt of wedge-shaped cross section comprising inner andouter elongated strap elements of substantially constant widththroughout their lengths, the inner element bing of wedge-shapedtransverse cross section and having its upper edge portion of greaterthickness than its lower edge portion, said outer element being ofsubstantially uniform thickness from edge to edge and extendingtransversely around and enclosing said inner element' and unitedthereto.

12. A trousers supporting beltl adapted tol fit through the belt yloopson the outside o'f a pair of trousers and of sufficient length to extendaround a personsbody, the belt comprising a pair of elongated strapsdisposed in face to face relation, at least one of the strapsbeingthi'cker at one longitudinal edge than at itsother longitudinaledge and tapering in thickness from its thicker edge to its thinneredge, thereby providing a belt of wedge-shaped cross-section.A

13. An apparel belt of wedge-shaped crosssection comprising inner andouter elongated strap elements of substantially constant vwidththroughout their length, the inner element being of wedge-shapedtransverse cross-section and having its upper edge portion of greaterthickness than its lower edge portion, said outer element being ofsubstantially uniform thickness from edge to edge and extendingtransversely around said inner element in face to face engagement withboth sides of the inner element'.

HAsKEL s.

